Pencil lead pointer



United States Patent FENCE. LEAD POINTER James E. Goumaz, Tulsa, Okla. Application June '22, 1955, Serial No. 517,325

4 Claims. (Cl. 1201) This invention relates to pencil lead Sharpeners or lead pointers, and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to a lead pointer for utilization with an electric erasing machine, or the like, to sharpen the lead of a draftsmans mechanical pencil.

In drafting work of many kinds, a draftsman is usually required to maintain a long and sharply pointed pencil point to attain the degree of delineation necessary for desirable workmanship. At present, many draftsmen maintain an adequately sharpened pencil lead by frequently sharpening the pencil and using a fine sand paper, or emery cloth, to adequately shape the pencil point. This method has many disadvantages in that the sand paper or emery cloth gets very dirty and often smears unwanted graphite on drawings and clothing. Further, frequent work stoppages are necessary to enable the draftsrnan to take his pencil to the pencil sharpener,

which is usually mounted on a wall, or the like, some distance from the drafting table. Many draftsmen' often resort to sharpening the pencil by means of a pocket knife, or razor blade, and smoothing the pencil lead to the required fine point by use of sand paper, or emery. Disadvantages of such a tedious and time consuming task will be apparent. A variety of mechanical pencils for drafting work have been developed and are presently available which overcome many of these disadvantages, and which eliminate frequent trips to the pencil sharpener, but the lead points of these mechanical pencils must be shaped to the desired point by means of sand paper, or the like. The use of sand paper is not only a hazard to cleanliness, as hereinbefore set forth, but also manual pressure of the lead against the sand paper during the shaping operation may cause accidental breakage of the lead, which is both annoying and time consuming.

The present invention contemplates a novel lead sharpener or pointer adapted to be utilized with conventional electric erasing machines which are today normally considered an essential part of a draftsmans instruments. The pencil lead pointer is so designed and constructed as to provide a fine point on a mechanical pencil lead, or a wooden pencil having a sufiiciently long lead point, without utilization of sand paper or emery cloth. The novel lead pointer is adapted for insertion in the shaft of an electric erasing machine to be rotated thereby. Thus, as the lead point of a pencil is inserted in the sharpener, the pencil lead is quickly and efficiently ground to a smooth and fine point. The rapidity with which a sharp, fine point may be provided on a pencil greatly reduces the time lost due to work stoppage. The substantial elimination of the use of sand paper or emery cloth. greatly enhances the cleanliness of the drafting work, which is very important to a draftsrnan, and substantially reduces accidental breakage of the lead. Thus, the present invention provides a readily available pencil lead pointer which will rapidly sharpen a lead point and provide sharp, fine point therefor in a clean and efficient manner.

It is, therefore, an important object of this invention to provide a novel lead pointer which is so designed and 2,767,686 Patented Oct. 23, 1956 2 constructed as to be utilized with a conventional electric erasing machine without alteration thereof.

It is another object of this invention to provide a novel pencil lead pointer which rapidly provides a sharp point on a pencil lead, and particularly the lead of a mechanical drafting pencil thereby substantially reducing time lost due to work stoppage.

it is still another object of this invention to provide a novel pencil lead sharpener which sharpens a pencil lead to a fine point, particularly as required in drafting work, and which substantially eliminates the utilization of sand paper or emery cloth, or the like, thereby greatly enhancing the cleanliness of the pencil sharpening process, and substantially reducing accidental breakage of the lead.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a novel pencil lead sharpener, or pointer, of simple operation and durable and economical in construction.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be evident from the following detailed. description, read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate my invention.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of an electric erasing machine having the novel pencil lead pointer disposed in operable position thereon, and with portions shown in dotted lines for clarity.

Figure 2 is a sectional view of the novel pencil lead pointer of the invention.

Figure 3 is a plan view of the novel pencil lead pointer.

Referring to the drawings in detail, reference character it) refers in general to a pencil lead sharpener adapted to be utilized with any suitable electric erasing machine 12. The pencil lead sharpener, or lead pointer '10 comprises a substantially cylindrical housing 14 Fig. 2) having a shouldered portion 16 extending downwardly therefrom to provide a substantially circular recessed portion 18 substantially in the center of the bottom 15 of the interior of the housing 14. The shouldered portion 16 terminates in a downwardly extending shank member 20 of substantially circular configuration in transverse cross section. The shank 29 is provided with a diametrically disposed elongated groove or recess 22 for a purpose as will be hereinafter set forth.

A suitable cutting die 24 is provided within the housing 14, and the lower end 26 of the die 24 is disposed within the recessed portion 18. It is to be understood that any suitable cutting die may be utilized, but the die shown herein is preferred. The die 24 comprises a plurality of circumferentially spaced arm members 28, preferably four, extending upwardly from the lower end 26 and each adapted to receive a cutting member 30. The cutting members 30 are angularly disposed from the vertical in such a manner that the inwardly directed cutting edges. thereof (not shown) form a surface of revolution substantially similar to the desired configuration of a sharpened mechanical pencil point (not shown).

The housing 14 is provided with an externally threaded portion 32 at the upper end thereof to complement a similarly threaded internal portion 34 of a cap member 36. The cap member 36 is preferably substantially domeshaped and is provided with an upwardly extending sleeve portion 38 in substantially axial alignment with an aperture 40 provided in the cap member 36, and which in turn is in axial alignment with the cutting die 24. The sleeve 38 is slightly larger in diameter than a pencil shank (not shown) to permit insertion thereof within the sleeve 38, and the aperture 40 is of a smaller size to preclude passage of the pencil (not shown) therethrough and yet provide sufiicient clearance for the pencil lead (not shown) to protrude therethrough and into the cutting die 24 in a manner as will be hereinatfter set forth. The cap member 36 is further provided with a downwardly extending circular flange 42 on the interior thereof which is, providedto receive the upper end 44 of the cutting die 24 to maintain the cutting die 24 substantially stationary with respect to the cap 36 and the housing 14 so that the cutting die 24 will rotate simultaneously therewith as the lead pointer is rotated in a manner to be hereinafter set forth. Ibis preferred to provide sufiicient clearance be tween the outer periphery of the die 24 and the aperture 18 and the flange 42 to allow slight angular deviations from the vertical during usage of the lead pointer 10 in order to substantially preclude accidental breakage of the pencil lead (not shown) being sharpened thereby.

Operation.

The erasing machine 12 isnormally provided with a hollow shaft 46 (shown in dotted line in Fig. l) which extends longitudinally therethrough and is adapted to rotate when the erasing machine isactuated in the usual manner. An erasing strip 48 is normally inserted in one end 50 of the shaft 46 and is rotated simultaneously therewithto provide a rapid and efiicient erasing operation which is particularly desirable in drafting work. The shaft 20 of the pencil lead pointer 10 is of a slightly large diameter than the internal bore (not shown) of the shaft 46 and is adapted for insertion within the opposite end 52 thereof by means of the groove 22 which permits a slight compression of the shank diameter for wedging thereof securely within the shaft 46. Thus, the lead pointer 10 will rotate simultaneously with the shaft 46 as the electric erasing machine is actuated.

To sharpen the lead point (not shown) of a mechanical pencil (not shown), the pencil lead is extended from the mechanicalpencil a sufiicient length, as desired, and the electric erasing machine is actuated in the normal manner to rotate the shaft 46 and the. lead pointer 10 inserted therein. As the lead pointer, is rotated, it is merely necessary to insert the mechanical pencil (not shown) into the sleeve 38 in such a manner that the pencil lead extends through the aperture 40l2111d into the cutting die 24. The rotation of the cutting blades 30 adjacent the pencil lead will quickly grind the lead to a fine sharp point which is ready for use without further shaping, such as by the use of sand paper, or the like. It will be apparent that the pencil lead of any pencil, either mechanical or wooden, which is of sutficient length to extend through the aperture 40 and into the cutting die 24 may be sharpened and shaped by the novel lead pointer 10 by inserting the pencil in the device as hereinbefore set forth.

It is to be understood that the lead pointer 10 may be inserted in an electric erasing machine of the type shown herein, and may remain in position therein indefinitely as desired, since the lead pointer in no way hinders the operation of the machine as an eraser. There are some types of electric erasers, however, wherein only one end of the hollow shaft member is exposed to permit insertion of relatively short rubber erasing tips (not shown). In the event it is desired to use the novel lead pointer with this type of erasing machine, the erasing tip may be removed from the shaft in the usual manner and the lead pointer may be readily inserted therein in amanner similar to that hereinbefore set, forth. Thus, it will be apparent that the novel lead pointer may be efficiently utilized with substantially any type of electric erasing machine which is commercially available today.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the present invention provides a novel lead pointer for utilization with an electric erasing machine to provide a fine and sharp point for a pencil lead, and particularly for a mechanical drafting pencil lead. The novel device readily provides a sharpenedpoint for drafting or other purposes without the necessity of using sand paper, emery cloth, or the like, thereby greatly enhancing the 4 cleanliness of the operation, and substantially reducing the possibility of accidental breakage of the lead point. Further, the rapidity with which a lead may be shaped to a sharp point substantially decreases time losses due to work stoppage. Thus, the novel lead pointer provides a rapid and efiicient lead pointing operation and is simple and durable in construction.

Changes may be made in the combination and arrangement of parts as heretofore set forth in the specification and shown in the drawings, it being understood that any modification in the precise embodiment of the invention may be made within the scope of the following claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. In combination with an electric erasing machine, a lead pointer for sharpening a pencil lead, and comprising a housing having a shaft adapted to be inserted in the erasing machine for rotation thereby, a cutter die disposed within the housing, means provided in the housing for permitting insertion of the pencil lead into the cutter die, said housing and cutter die adapted to rotate upon actuation of the erasing machine for shaping the pencil lead inserted within the cutter die.

2. In combination with an electric erasing machine, a lead pointer for sharpening the lead of a draftsmans mechanical pencil, and comprising a substantially cylindrical housing, a cutter die disposed in the housing, a cap member provided to cooperate with the housing to maintainthe cutter die therein, apertured means provided on the cap for permitting insertion of the pencil lead into the cutter die, means provided on the housing for securing the load pointer to the erasing machine for rotation thereby for sharpening the pencil lead inserted within the cutter die.

3. In combination with an electric erasing machine, a lead pointer for shaping the lead of a pencil, and comprising a substantially cylindrical housing, a cutter die, a recessed portion provided in the housing to receive the cutter die, a cap member provided to cooperate with the housing to retain the cutter die therein, a sleeve member provided on the cap member in substantial axial alignment with the cutter die for receiving the pencil, said cap member provided with an aperture in substantial alignment with the cutter die and sleeve member to permit insertion of the pencil lead into the cutter die, and means on the housing for securing the lead pointer in the erasing machine for rotation thereby for sharpening the pencil lead.

4. In combination with an electric erasing machine, a lead pointer for sharpening the lead of a draftsmans mechanical pencil, and comprising a substantially cylindrical housing, a cutter die disposed within the housing, a cap member provided to cooperate with the housing to retain the cutter die therein, said cutter die comprising a plurality of circumferentially spaced arms each adapted to receive a cutting member, said cutting members disposed at an angle with respect to the axis of the housing and having a cutting edge thereof extending inwardly to provide a substantially conical surface of revolution for shaping the lead, means provided on the cap member for permitting insertion of the pencil lead into the cutting die adjacent the cutting edges of the cutting members, and means provided on the housing for securing the lead pointer to the erasing machine to be rotated thereby to sharpen the pencil lead adjacent the cutting members.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

